The Pianist
by Austrian Artemis
Summary: The final scene from the Phantom of the Opera movie... with Austria/Hungary/Prussia!


Cold and Dark and Musical

Phantom/Hetalia Crossover - Final Scene of Phantom

Roderich - this mysterious man - had suddenly, and literally, swept her off her feet and had dragged her into the room in the basement where she knew he wrote his music and played his piano. How could such masterpieces be played and written by such a cold hearted man like him?

"Elizaveta, why, you ask am I confined to this cellar! Not because I was shy or shunned for what I had done, but because I loved music too much to let it go! And now all that anyone thinks of me is that I'm a lowly stalker and a crazed musician!" He put her down and continued to drag her behind him with his left hand and a lantern held up in his right. The dark path wound around them, stretching eternally into the blackness.

Upstairs, people ran, chanting that Roderich must be found for kidnapping Elizaveta. Both could hear the footsteps marching around above them.

Roderich continued to drag her around his basement until they reached the piano room. Candles lit the way and pictures of Elizaveta and Roderich's music were spread about. Roderich finally planted her down on the ground and began to weep. "Nobody ever showed me any love, Elizaveta. Nobody. Why? WHY!"

Elizaveta could do nothing but look up at him in shock. Never before had he showed this type of anger through any form but Chopin.

Meanwhile, walking down the spiraling staircase towards Roderich's piano room, were Vash and Gilbert. Vash held a lantern high so the light would cast downward, and he suddenly stopped. "I refuse to go any farther." He stated simply. "I've known Roderich too long to know that he's probably expecting you, so just... watch your step, okay?" He said it accusingly.

"Scaredy-cat." Gilbert said. "Calm down. I'll be careful. Nothing can stop the awesome me!"

Vash rolled his eyes and motioned for Gilbert to keep going. Gilbert threw his jacket off, the same one he had given Elizaveta so long ago, and ran down the staircase into the darkness. He ran until he could no longer see Vash, just the tiniest view of his lantern, and looked left and right as he ran down the stairs. Unfortunately for Gilbert, he failed to look downwards.

He fell right into Roderich's trap. He cursed as he fell, knowing the Roderich didn't very much care for him. The water surrounded him and he knew he would have to find the lever in order to get out. He struggled for air repeatedly, and when the gate used to keep him under was lowered past the water level, he knew he wasn't going to have another chance.

Gilbert pulled the lever with all his might, thinking "Yeah, that stupid stingy noble didn't account for my awesome arm strength!" He smiled as he came up for air and climbed his way out.

Roderich fiddled with the ring that Gilbert had given to Elizaveta. He stared at it - wondering why she had chosen HIM over Roderich. He sat in silence until Elizaveta shouted. "Are you done day-dreaming?" He turned around and stared at her in the long white dress he had given to her.

He smirked. She couldn't understand. She continued shouting at him. "Roderich - I know you. And this isn't you. Aren't you done playing make-believe? Don't you want to get out there and do something with yourself besides play piano all day and night?"

His smirk faded, and he looked downward shamefully. "Is it my obsession with music which keeps us from love?"

Elizaveta looked at him with wide eyes. She should've guessed that he loved her sooner. Now that she thought about it, it was pretty obvious.

Roderich sat down and put his face in his hands. "Father Germania was never happy with me either. I was born to fight, and all anyone could get out of me was music. And nobody cared whenever I saved enough money to buy my first piano. Nobody." He paused, stood up, and walked over to a broken piano in the far corner. It was so broken up and torn apart that he picked up a key and held it in his hands. "E flat. Always a good note."

He pocketed it and slowly walked back over to Elizaveta. He held the ring in his fingers, and forced her to turn around and look at him. "Nobody cared enough, Elizaveta, but you. And now all I ask of you is that you continue to listen to me play, because nobody else will." He put the ring in her tiny yet strong hand and closed the fingers around it. She looked up at him and felt tears form in her eyes.

She held the ring, feeling its warmth, and went over to the broken piano. She played a note, an A, and it rang out. It was twangy, but it sounded better than the dysfunctional E flat in Roderich's pocket. "If you gave people a chance, they would love your piano playing like I do, Roderich. You can't just bottle everything inside, and you know that."

Roderich looked down shamefully. Then he saw something move out of his eyes. He looked up, and saw Gilbert, that freak, walk forward towards them from behind the wall. "Look who's here! Wonderful, Gilbert, wonderful. Company is always appreciated."

Elizaveta looked up. "Gilbert!" She exclaimed, happy to see him alive. Then she felt Roderich's arm on her shoulder. She tensed up immediately.

"Roddy, you know as well as I do that it's unreasonable to make her listen to you bang on the piano keys for the rest of her life. Yeah, I'll deal with it, 'cuz I'm awesome, but it's unreasonable for a lady to be asked to do such a horrible thing." Gilbert crossed his arms and shifted his weight onto one foot like a teenager.

Roderich turned to Elizaveta. "You're in love with _him_? Pathetic."

"Gilbert, there's no point." Elizaveta said, unconsciously holding her arm out towards him.

"I love her, Roddy. Just listen for one second!" Then he cursed.

"Did anyone ever listen to me? I don't think so." Roderich turned and stuck his nose in the air, adjusting his glasses.

"Can I just talk to her, please?" Gilbert begged.

"Of course. Why not?" Roderich said a little too sarcastically. He invited him in, unlocking the door to the room. As Gilbert came in, he muttered a brief 'man, I'm awesome' before Roderich continued speaking. "I wouldn't force her to do anything she didn't want to do. You, not so much." Then Roderich locked the door behind him, and as he turned to see it shut, he forced a lever down and a glass cage encircled Gilbert, again filling up with water slowly.

Elizaveta looked shocked again. This was a side of Roderich she had yet to see. "Maybe if Elizaveta agreed to leave you and stay with me, then perhaps the water would stop running. You love him? Let him go. And if you refuse, then maybe Prussia will cease to ever exist. Make a choice. I would suggest making it quickly." Roderich crossed his arms.

Elizaveta paused before speaking again. "You know, Roderich, perhaps I would've felt sorry for you before, but this. This. THIS is unthinkable. Do you even realize what you're doing?"

Roderich turned his back. Gilbert looked at Elizaveta with pleading eyes. "I'm sorry, Elizaveta, I tried. I tried so hard to set you – to set us free. And what did I gain – nothing. Not Awesome."

Roderich then quickly walked over to Gilbert and the two stared each other down before simultaneously breaking into an argument. Elizaveta looked at the two in horror – as if they might kill each other. The water level, however, was filling up on Gilbert rather quickly. Roderich looked at him in disgust, and then turned back to Elizaveta. "Do you choose to love this idiot, or me?" He said with sad eyes.

"Making her lie just to get rid of me is useless, Roddy." Gilbert said with anger, struggling to keep his head above the water in his glass cage. Then the three of them began to argue and scream, and Elizaveta cried. When things began to quiet down, Elizaveta and Roderich were staring each other down.

"I can't believe that I loved you," Elizaveta said quietly.

Roderich looked back at Gilbert with unfeeling eyes. "Choose quickly, Elizaveta. For his sake." Gilbert tried to pull himself up more, and the sound of him choking on the water echoed throughout the room. Roderich turned back to Elizaveta, appearing angered.

They stared at each other for a while. Elizaveta had tears in her eyes, Roderich's eyes obviously filled with sadness. "How did you become so cold?" Elizaveta asked, walking closer and closer to him. "You will never be forgotten, Roderich. Let warmth replace the hardness." She put his hands on his chest and kissed him. It was beautiful, but it was short-lived. When they stepped back to look at each other, Roderich was in such shock that he didn't have any time to adjust his glasses before she stepped forward and kissed him again. This one was longer and even more passionate. This time, when she stepped back, Roderich could barely look at her. He looked down, suddenly frustrated and upset. It wasn't long before he began crying. Elizaveta looked at him with concern.

Then he walked over to Gilbert's cage and released the lever. Water came splashing out around the bottom and he bent over and gasped for air. Elizaveta ran over to him to help him stand up. Roderich stomped up to his piano and shouted at them. "You will forget any of this happened, you hear?" Gilbert ran to the door and began to unlock it, working at the various keys and locks attached to it. Elizaveta, on the other hand, slowly walked to Roderich, and placed the ring in his hand. He looked up with tears in his eyes and held it firmly.

She tore her gaze from his and ran in the opposite direction. She grabbed Gilbert's hand as they retreated through the door, leaving the pianist in his self-made prison, alone.

Roderich looked at his piano, no longer seeing potential, but emptiness. Blank piano keys. He stood up suddenly, took a nearby candelabrum, and hit his piano repeatedly. The crashing sound was almost unbearable on his ears, but he still continued to bash it. Then, seeing the piano in pieces, he too, retreated from his cellar.

He never returned, and never again did he play piano.


End file.
